There are many gambling games in the world, which differ in types, themes, content and have their own rules. Each of them has its own connoisseurs and true fans.
The proposed article will talk about one of the most popular types of related entertainment, known as video slots. It will be useful for novice players, and perhaps also for some experienced hobbyists.
Slots: what are they and what is their structure?
The concept of "slot" is a term that players usually call slot machines that have several reels. This name is borrowed from English.
The algorithm of such entertainment is simple. After pressing the activation button of the slot machine, the process of vertical rotation of the reels begins. The task at the moment of the claimant to win is to place a bet. The condition for him to receive a monetary reward is usually the appearance of three identical symbols in a horizontal row.
In another situation, the player's funds remain as a chance to win.
The typical structure of a classic slot includes several basic elements:
- reel - a set of symbolic images rotating in a vertical direction (some gaming machines of the latest generations have many reels at the same time, the number of which is even dozens);
- symbols - this is what the moving graphic pictures on the reels are called, the appearance of which depends on the theme of the game;
- pay line – for the most part, such components are distinguished by the horizontal arrangement of the same symbols, which is a condition for victory, winning (in individual machines, the arrangement of the pay lines in groups or curved, in direct or reverse order is also not excluded);
- payout table - it is a list of probable winnings in the slot machine and a carrier of information about the corresponding gambling tournament, in particular, data about the bonus options of the game (the table shows the player the result that a certain combination of symbols brought, and also provides information about the presence of a jackpot or a multiplier in the tournament win);
- a set of buttons - it ensures the activation of the game control mechanisms on the slot (usually it includes the "start" key, which ensures the start of the reels' movement, buttons for determining and adjusting the sizes of the bets made by the participant of the game, and the auto-rotation key, which makes it possible to repeat the tournament without the participation of the player ).
The presence and nature of additional symbols depends on the specific model of the slot machine and the developer of this device.
The corresponding symbols include, for example, the Wild of the spread, fixed or moving type, the Scatter symbol, which is responsible for starting a cone round or game as a result of the corresponding combination, and the so-called giant symbol, which, spinning separately, gives more chances to win.
What should you know about game lines in slots?
The lines that ensure the formation of winnings in a slot machine have common basic principles of operation that a novice player must understand.
One or another slot model involves a certain number of such lines, each of which represents a certain combination that falls on the reel.
There was only one line in the first slot machines, mechanical ones known as "one-armed bandits". The identical principle of operation was characteristic of the so-called "fruit slots", which were created later.
Unlike classic slot machines equipped with three reels, their modern alternative can also have 5, 7, 9, 15, 20 and even more corresponding rotating elements.
At present, such single-line gaming devices are rare. Instead, the number of winning combinations in them can even exceed a hundred options.
For beginners who are interested in the question, how to play slots, in order to win, you should be aware of the variety of forms of arrangement of game lines in popular slot machines of the current generation.
According to the rules of a particular slot machine, they can be placed not only horizontally, but also vertically, diagonally, and even have a broken trajectory like a zigzag.
Before starting the game, you need to perform two actions:
- view the payout table and understand the content of this data (they inform about combinations of symbols and the winning amount);
- familiarize yourself with the options for winning lines for different amounts (currently in trend are machines in which the number of these lines increases when the monetary stakes increase - the more the player bets, the higher his chances of winning).
Some slot games do not provide such linear combinations at all. Their participants win if two identical images are located on the reels next to each other and in any area of the screen. In this case, the symbol is called Scatter.
Interesting facts about slots for money: history and modernity
You can cite a lot of relevant facts, among which there are little-known ones.
- 140 years have passed since the first slot machines were invented. Some researchers attribute the relevant invention to the American Charles Fay, others to the Englishman Gustav Schultz.
- Despite the roughness and primitiveness of the design, the very first slots gained recognition and widespread popularity almost immediately.
- Charles Fay was motivated by the need to occupy the customers of the car workshop while their vehicles were being repaired. After all, "standing on the soul" of mechanics, car owners interfered.
- The ancestors of slot machines with images of fruits were the so-called "fruit machines". They were installed on the streets of major cities in the USA at the end of the last century after the ban on all types of gambling. These devices dispensed chewing gum and candies with a flavor corresponding to the picture that appeared on the screen.
- The largest slot is considered to be Super Big Bertha, once presented in one of the Las Vegas casinos. This slot machine, equipped with a 5 kW electric motor, was created in the 1950s. Its production cost a record 150,000 Canadian dollars for that time. The height of such a miracle car for entertainment reached 2.5 m, and its width was about 2 meters.
- Slot machines bring the most profits to gaming establishments of various scales and profiles. This point applies to both stationary and virtual casinos, those operating in an online format.
- In our time, this type of gambling entertainment has gained the greatest popularity in the country of the Morning Sun. The Japanese will love to play more than residents and guests of the famous Atlantic City, Las Vegas and Singapore.
- For slot games, which most often become addictive and lead to gambling addiction, there are no strategies as such. Their fans rely solely on luck.
- Progressive jackpots were most often broken with the help of slot machines. For example, there are known cases when the winning amount of lucky people on Megabucks amounted to tens of millions of dollars.
- Practice proves that online slots allow users to win more often and more than land-based machines.
Many well-known personalities and public figures were regulars of gaming salons with corresponding machines. Singers Elton John and Michael Jackson and movie stars Marilyn Monroe and Bruce Lee had a similar passion.
